Wood heel turning machine



Dec. 3; 1935.

M. W. HOWARD WOOD HEEL TURNING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 13, 1933 2min Zl/I Zum/d I f km L Alia/megs Dec. 3, 1935. w, HOWARD 2,023,020

' WOOD HEEL TURNING MACHINE Filed May 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIII Patented Dec. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application May 13, 1933, Serial 1%. 670,943

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for turning wood heels. It consists in novel mechanism for controlling and adjusting the path of movement of the heel blank relative 5 to the cutter and is designed to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the machine and render its adjustment more convenient and more rapid to the operator in the manufacture of heels of various contours.

The invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a wood heel turning machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,488,534, dated April 1, 1924, but is capable of application to wood heel turning machines in general. Machines of this type are usually provided with two rotary cutters and a cam-controlled swinging jack for holding a heel blank, the blank being swung past one of the cutters by the jack to make a cut around one side of the heel blank from front to back and then to the other cutter to cut around the other side of the blank, thus completing the heel shaping or turning operation.

The cutters are shaped to correspond to the shape of heel desire-d and the necessary variations in the placement of the form cut on the heelblank are accomplished by guiding the horizontal movement of the jack toward the cutter by means of a cam, shaped somewhat like the eat contour of the heel, and by raising and lowering and tilting the jack while the blank is in engagement with the cutters. These raising, lowering and tilting movements of the jack,'with relation to the cutters, are accomplished by means of cam-shaped tracks which control the jack movements through suitable riders. As illustrated in the above-cited patent, these tracks are two in number and are located below the jack. In addition to their cam shaping, the

tracks require a critical vertical adjustment and to provide for this adjustment they are usually mounted on brackets, one at each end of each track, the brackets being held on the vertical face of the frame of the machine by cap screws working through vertical slots in the brackets to allow adjustment and provide locking means after adjustment has been made. To provide the necessary fine adjustment, a boss has been brought out from the face of the main frame under each of these four brackets and a vertical screw fitted to each of these bosses with the head of the screw down and the point bearing up' against the bottom end of the bracket. When adjustment is to be made, the locking cap screws loosened and the vertical adjusting screws turned. up or down, as the case may be, to the desired location and the bracket again locked in position by the locking screws. It is obvious that by these means independent adjustment is required at each end of both tracks. 5 After having secured the proper angular setting of a track by means of the independent end bracket vertical adjusting screws,,it is frequently necessary to move one or both the tracks up or down bodily a certain amount to, provide the proper shaping on different sizes of heels of the same style in the turning of an order. It'is desirable that these adjustments be made quickly and accurately. The two ends of a track must be moved up or down, as the case may be, an equal and known distance to conserve time and produce good heels. If this accuracy is not obtainable, cut-and-try methods must be used.

in an endeavor to get accurate and quick" settings, the said vertical adjusting screws have been 5 provided with square heads and the operator turns these screws up or down a certain number of quarters or quarter turns which is difiicult of exact accomplishment, and, as the two ends'of the track are independently adjustable, serious 5 errors often occur, and, as several adjustments are often necessary for the production of a single order, the errors which arise from inability to turn screws exact quarter turns by the hand wrench method, sometimes become cumulative, in 0 which case inferior heels and loss of valuable time occurs.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide convenient, efiicient and more come pact means for adjusting and locking thesetracks in much less time and with much greater accuthan has heretofore been possible. Another important object isto'ptovide means permitting the accurate recording of the settings required to reproduce exactly a previously designed heel, also to provide ready accessibility to the graduations by grouping them together on one side of the machine with the graduations facing upward.

The invention also provides means whereby a;

track supported at the two ends thereof can be raised or lowered bodily by raising or lowering both said ends simultaneously, a single or unitary operating member being provided for this purpose,

and means for securely lockingiboth said ends with a single locking device located conveniently near the adjusting means. I I

Another important feature of the invention is the provision of means for slightly raising or lowering one end of the track with relation to the other end to produce the angular setting necessary for the precise matching together of the two shaping cuts and means for locking the two ends of the track in this adjusted angular position so that thereafter the track may be moved up or down as a unit. Graduations are also preferably provided for convenience in setting this angular adjustment for both tracks and for recording these settings for subsequent duplications.

These and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, in which Fig. l is an isometric view of a wood heel turning machine of the type shown in the abovementioned patent and embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross section extending through one of the track adjusting shafts and its corresponding locking shaft;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of one of the track brackets;

Fig. e is an enlarged detail view of one of the compound adjusting wheels; and

Fig. is a fragmentary view taken on line 55 of Fig. 2.

The wood heel turning machine specifically illustrated in the drawings comprises a frame it! having two cutter spindles i2 mounted vertically therein and having form cutters l4 and pulleys l5 mounted on the ends thereof. Also carried by the frame intermediate of the spindles are bosses l6 supporting a vertically extending shaft I! carrying the work holding jack 8. The construction and operation of the jack are well known and need not, therefore, be specifically described herein, it being sufiiicent to state that the jack is adapted to support a heel blank 26 which is engaged with either of the cutters by swinging the jack about the axis of shaft ll. This movement of the jack toward the cutters is limited by adjustable collars or stops 2i engaged by a cam plate 22 carried by the jack, all of which is well known in machines of this nature.

The movements of the jack in the cutting op erations are controlled by the cam plate 22 and by upper and lower tracks 2d and 25, supported on and extending about the frame. Briefly, the upper track controls the tilting of the heel blank through the agency of a rider 28 on the track 24, and the lower track controls the elevation of the heel blank through the agency of a rider 29 and other connections, including a shaft 39, the rider 29 engaging the lower track 25. vMy

invention herein relates more particularly to the ed on vertically extending guideways 34 on opposite sides of the frame. The brackets are preferably fitted with gibs 36, held in place by dowel pins 31 and backed up by compression springs 38. These spring actuated gibs provide a desirable amount of friction for the brackets and also aid in holding the brackets in a fixed angular relation to the guideways, as hereinafter described. My improved mechanism for adjusting and locking the tracks is the same for both the upper and lower tracks and a description of one such mechanism will, therefore, suffice, the same reference characters being applied to like parts in the two mechanisms.

A shaft 40, mounted horizontally within the frame rearwardly of the spindles I2, has a pinion ll on one end thereof in mesh with rack teeth 5 32 on one of the brackets, collars 44 being provided on and holding the shaft against endwise movement. A sleeve 45, loose on theshaft, has pinion teeth 46 cut thereinto and in engagement with the rack teeth 42 on the oppositely disposed bracket. A compound adjusting member, com- .prising an inner dial wheel 4?, fixed to the sleeve 45, and an outer dial wheel 8, fixed to the shaft 40, is provided for rotating both pinions 4| and it and thereby adjusting both ends of the track simultaneously. A bolt 50, extending through a slot 5!, is adapted to lock the two wheels together into a unit, the wheels being relatively adjustable upon loosening the bolt.

The inclined edge portion 52 of the inner wheel 41 is graduated entirely therearound and cooperating therewith, preferably adjacent to the upper side of the wheel, is a plate 53 provided with an index 54 cooperating with the graduations 52. The locating of the plate 53 above the wheel 4'! permits convenient reading of the graduations from a standing position. The inclined edge portion of the outer wheel 48 has a limited range of graduations 56 thereon cooperating with an index 51 on the wheel 47. Rotation of the member fill- 38 as a single unit serves to adjust the track bodily in a vertical direction and the graduations 52 relative to the index 54 indicates the vertical position of the track. Rotation of the member 48 relative to the member 61 serves to adjust one end of the track vertically relative to the other end thereof and the graduations 56 relative to the index 51 indicates the amount of this adjustment, it being understood that this adjustment is very slight and that the track is sufficiently flexible to permit the same.

My invention also includes a single or unitary locking means located conveniently adjacent to the adjusting means for each track or its pair of brackets 32 or 33. The locking means illustrated in the drawings comprises a bolt 60 for each pair of upper and lower brackets, the bolt extending through the frame and brackets. The side walls of the frame are slotted at 62 to permit vertical adjustment of the brackets. The locking action is effected by a nut 64 on each bolt and these nuts are located conveniently adjacent to the corresponding adjusting members 4'! and 48, whereby the entire operation of unlocking, adjusting and locking can be performed from a single position. It will be clearly apparent that this feature of the invention and the feature of providing a single locking means for each pair of brackets effects a great saving in time andlabor required by the operator. 6 The operation and advantages of my improved machine are believed to be obvious and may be briefly described as follows. When it is desired to adjust one of the cam tracks 24 or 25 vertically, the locking nut 64 thereof is loosened suiii ciently to release its two brackets 32 or 33. The compound wheel 4'l48 is then rotated to move the brackets on the guidewaysEi-s and bring the track to the desired position. The brackets are then locked in this adjusted position by tightening thenut 64. It will be noted that both brackets are released and locked by manipulating a single unit and that the entire series of operaeffecting a great saving of time and simplifying the work of the operator, and adjusting of the track bodily by means of a unitary member positively eliminates the possibility of changing the angularity of the track.

It will be understood that repeat orders demand that heels which have been previously manufactured shall be reproduced and such operations require resetting of the machine to previous settings thereof. ll/iy invention is especially adapted to serve this function with convenience, accuracy and facility. The graduations 52 relative to the cooperating index 5t permit records to be made of any and all settings of the tracks and the machine can, at any later date, be readily reset to such positions. Furthermore, the rapid and convenient controls of my invention in connection with this recording feature are particularly valuable in the producing and reproducing of new heel designs. The machine can be quickly and conveniently adjusted until the desired design is produced and then the graduations 52 relative to the index 56. may be observed and made of record. This heel can thereafter be quickly reproduced at any time merely by resetting the machine to correspond to this record. Thus the value of my machine in reproducing heels previously designed and manufactured can be readily appreciated.

In designing new heels, it is sometimes necessary to tilt the jack guiding track by raising or lowering one end thereof relative to the other end. This angular trimming adjustment is very slight and be attended with considerable accuracy. The novel track adjusting means of my invention, including the. compound adjusting member dl l%, is particularly adapted to serve this function. When such adjustment is to be made, the bracket locking nut 64 and bolt 5i! are loosen-ed and the wheel $8 is slightly rotated in one direction or the other relative to the wheel 4'! until the desired result is obtained. The bolt 58 is then tightened to lock the two wheels into a unit, and the track may thereupon be adjusted bodily by rotating the unit 47-48 without danger of losing the precise angular setting required for the particular heel being turned. It will, of course, be understood that the graduations 58 permit this setting also to be recorded for future use. This angular adjustment of the track is obtained through pinions ll and 45, respectively connected to the wheels as and d? and engaging the bracket racks, as will be understood.

When performing the above described adjustments, it is desirable that the brackets 32 and 33 shall remain in close and accurate relation to the guideways t and efiectively support the track. The spring actuated gibs 35 aid in effecting this result by being constantly held in contact with one side of the guideway. The gibs also provide friction to hold the track assembly against downward movement by gravity when the locking nut 64 is released. It will also be noted that the thrust of the pinions against the brackets is taken directly by the guideways, which action ends also to hold the brackets in contact and closely aligned with the guideways.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pateat is:

1. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary cutter mounted therein, a work holding jack adjacent to the cutter, relatively spaced guideways on the frame, brackets mounted to slide on the guideways, a jack guiding track extending about the frame and supported by said brackets, means for adjusting the brackets and track simultaneously along their guideways as a unit, and means associated with the aforementioned means for relatively adjusting the ets with respect to each other.

2. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary spindle therein, a cutter on the spindle, a work holding jack mounted on the frame to move about a pivotal axis and including means for supporting a heel blank so that the blank may 10 be engaged with the cutter by moving the jack about said axis, a track for guiding the jack, means supporting the track comprising rack teeth, a rotary member having graduations therearound, rotary toothed means engaging the rack 1 teeth and connected to said rotary member, an element located adjacent to the upper side of the rotary member and having an index cooperating with the graduations, rotation of the member being adapted to adjust the track bodily in a direction toward and from the jack, and means for locking the track against adjusting movement.

3. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary cutter mounted therein, a work holding jack adjacent to the cutter, relatively spaced guideways on the frame, brackets mounted to slide on the guideways, a jack guiding track extending about the frame and having the ends thereof supported by said brackets, means for adjusting the brackets and track simultaneously along their guideways as a unit, means comprising two relatively adjacent elements associated with the aforementioned means for relatively adjusting the brackets with respect to each other, and means for locking the two elements against relative bracket adjusting movement.

4. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary cutter mounted therein, a work holding jack adjacent to the cutter, relatively spaced guideways on the frame, brackets mounted to slide on the guideways, a jack guiding track extending about the frame and supported by said brackets, means for adjusting the brackets simultaneously along their guideways in a manner moving the brackets and track together as a unit, and a single releasable locking means for locking both brackets against movement on the guideways.

5. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary cutter mounted therein, a work holding jack adjacent to the cutter, two guideways respectively on opposite sides of the frame, brackets respectively mounted to slide on the guideways, a jack guiding track extending about the frame and having the ends thereof supported by said brackets, means operative from one side of the frame for adjusting the brackets simultaneously along their guideways in a manner moving the brackets and track together as a unit, and a locking bolt extending through the frame and both brackets for locking both brackets against movement on the guideways.

6. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary cutter mounted therein, a work holding jack adjacent to the cutter, relatively spaced guideways on the frame, two brackets mounted to slide on the guideways, a jack guiding track extending about the frame and having the ends thereof supported by said brackets, rack teeth on each bracket, a shaft in the frame, a pinion 70 respectively to the shaft and second pinion, 75

means for securing the two elements against relative rotation, means for locking the brackets against adjusting movement, and means providing graduations for indicating the adjusted positions of the track and the relative positions of the two elements.

'7. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary spindle therein, a cutter on the spindle, a work holding jack mounted on the frame to pivot about an axis and including means for so holding a heel blank that the blank may be engaged with the cutter by moving the jack about said axis, a track for guiding the jack, brackets mounting the track at its ends on the frame, racks carried by the brackets, two coaxial gears supported in the frame and in mesh with the racks, means for rotating the gears together as a. unit and thereby adjusting the brackets simultaneously and equally to move the track bodily in a direction toward and from the jack, and additional means permitting a relative adjustment of the brackets in said direction.

8. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary spindle therein, a cutter on the spindle, a work holding jack mounted on the frame to pivot about an axis and including means for so holding a heel blank that the blank may be engaged with the cutter by moving the jack about said axis, a track for guiding the jack. means mounting the track at its ends on the frame, means operated by a single operating member for adjusting the track bodily in a direction toward and from the jack, said last-named means including mechanism for adjusting either end of the track in a direction toward and from the jack with relation to the other end.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8, in which said adjusting means includes a compound adjusting member embodying two relatively adjustable portions respectively cooperating with different portions of the track, and means for securing said two portions against relative movement.

10. The combination set forth in claim 8, in which said adjusting means includes two graduated and relatively rotary dials and said mechanism includes independent elements respectively connected to and operated by the dials for adjusting the two ends of the track respectively, and means for securing said two dials against relative rotation.

11. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary spindle therein, a cutter on the spindle, a work holding jack mounted on the frame to pivot about an axis and including means for so holding a heel blank that the blank may be engaged with the cutter by moving the jack about said axis, a track beneath the level of the cutter for guiding the jack, guideway means supporting the track on the frame with the two ends thereof located adjacent to opposite sides of the frame, means operated by a single member for adjusting the track up and down bodily along said guideway means, and additional means providing for the adjustment of the track angularly to vary the relative heights of opposite end portions thereof.

12. In a wood heel turning machine, a frame, a rotary spindle therein, a cutter on the spindle, a work holding jack mounted on the frame'to pivot about an axis and including means for holding a heel blank so that the blank may be engaged with the cutter by moving the jack about said axis, a track for guiding the jack, guideway supporting the track on the frame, means operated by a single member for adjusting the track bodily in a direction toward and from the jack along said guideway means, and cooperating means whereby the ends of the track can be adjusted relatively to each other in said direction.

MERTON W. HOWARD. 

